Why Lisbon Is One of the Coolest Cities in Europe

This is the Portuguese capital's moment—so what are you waiting for?

Esquire UK + Damien Weighill

By
Tom Barber

Oct 17, 2015

Underestimate Western Europe's oldest capital at your peril. A port at the centre of what was once a vast and wealthy maritime empire will always be a cosmopolitan place to hang out. Lisbon does distinct districts beautifully, with the formality of the central Praça do Comércio (created after the earthquake of 1755) flanked by the winding lanes of the Alfama, the city's centre under the Arabic occupation of Iberia, and the once-seedy and now achingly cool dockyard area of Cais do Sodré. The city has rediscovered its mojo in a major way: where bacalao (salt cod) was once the culinary high (ie, not very high at all), young chefs are reimagining Portuguese petiscos (tapas); meanwhile, elegant town houses are being converted into chic hotels, and the nightlife is as good as any self-respecting seafront city should expect.

Tom Barber is a founder of originaltravel.co.uk

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Eating & Sleeping

Esquire UK + Tom Barber

Stay

While the Bairro Alto Hotel in the district of the same name remains a winner, we also love the new Hotel Valverde, located on the city's most bling boulevard, and with rooms by the same designers as the Bairro Alto. After the inevitable big night out, retire to the Pateo garden, complete with pool, five o'clock tea and cocktail bar, or settle in for a movie in the small cinema. The restaurant serves a range of excellent modern Portuguese fare.

Lunch

Exhibit A of the vision that is transforming the city's culinary fortunes, the 19th-century Mercado da Ribeira, which was getting a bit tired to say the least, has been completely overhauled (by Time Out, of all people). Half remains a traditional food market that's great for browsing, while the other half has been transformed into a food hall with outlets from some of Portugal's best chefs, including Alexandre Silva, previously of the excellent Bica
do Sapato restaurant. Sit at one of the long communal tables and try his black risotto with scallops and seaweed accompanied with a glass of Corrente white from the Alentejo wine region.

Dine

Long Iberia's culinary poor relation, things are on a roll thanks largely to two chefs, Nuno Mendes (of Chiltern Firehouse fame) and
Jose Avillez (ex-El Bulli), who has opened five restaurants in the Cais do Sodré and Chiado districts. Avillez's Belcanto has just received a second Michelin star. Have the 360° Discoveries tasting menu, which shows how Portugal's former colonies have influenced the country's cuisine. belcanto.pt

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Do, Drink & Party

Esquire UK + Tom Barber

See

Street art on an epic scale. The city may be on the up, but there were enough derelict buildings — and city-government visionaries — for artists such as local hero Vhils and Brazilian twins Os Gémeos to make some of the world's finest public art.

Do

Use the city as your base camp for everything from surfing in Cascais (half an hour to the west) to serious beach action in Comporta (an hour south), a supercool boho hangout where glamorous Lisbonites hire villas for the summer.

Shop

More than a century on, the tiny shoe shop Sapataria do Carmo still stocks supremely dapper, handcrafted gents' footwear for about half the price you'd pay in London.

Drink

The nightlife action has moved along the Tagus river waterfront, from Doca de Alcantara in the shadow of the 25 de Abril Bridge to Cais do Sodré. A cracker is Pensão Amor, which was once a brothel frequented by sailors. It retains a bawdy bordello feel, with suitably X-rated artwork and objets de smut in the loos. And the cocktails are pretty decent. pensaoamor.pt

Party

Head to hot bar and club A Bom, O Mau e O Vilão ("the good, the bad and the ugly"), which is very light on the latter, as Lisbon's abundant beautiful types congregate here. It's also a very convenient place to wander to and from Pensão Amor (see Drinks). It's just 30ft away and serves a wide range of craft gins and also hosts DJ-driven revelry until late at weekends.

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Yes & No

Esquire UK + Tom Barber

When in…

Eat tinned fish. Head to the original Thirties Conserveira de Lisboa shop on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros or the outlet in the Mercado da Ribeira for delicious tinned anchovies, octopus and, best of all, sardines in lemon, packaged in beautiful vintage tins. Alternatively, the ring-pull cans make an ideal midnight refuel at Sol e Pesca, a fishing-tackle shop turned hip bar.

Avoid

Fado, Portugal's inimitable and melancholic folk music. It has
its merits as a cultural phenomenon (so much so that it has just earned Unesco World Heritage status) and there are many wonderful practitioners of the art. But nothing will kill a night out's form quicker than being stuck in a restaurant listening to a fado singer in full remorse mode. Makes country music sound like euphoric trance.

Why now?

Because Lisbon is on. There might not be a cooler city in Europe at this precise moment, and these moments can be fleeting.

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